Nightmares
by Erebrandir
Summary: Estel (aka Aragorn) has nightmares, and Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir comfort him. Complete!!!


Disclaimer: See authors bio  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last story! In this story, Estel is about seven. Gilraen who? Really though, she doesn't appear in this story at all. Review if you have the time. Enjoy!  
  
Nightmares.  
  
Elladan and Elrohir had just come back from a five day hunting trip, and were talking with their father, when they heard the cries. "Estel," Elrohir said, and they ran to the young humans' room.  
  
***  
  
Estel ran through a forest, though he wasn't sure where it was, because it didn't look like the forest surrounding Rivendell. Then he tripped, and fell sprawling on the ground, panting hard. It suddenly felt very cold, and he looked up. There was something large and black walking towards him. It hissed something in a strange language, and reached a gloved hand towards him. It whispered, "Arathorn. Aarathorn."  
  
"No, no! I'm not him! I'm Estel." Estel said, covering his head with his hands, shaking with fright.  
  
"Estel. Estel!"  
  
"No, no! Let go! Help! Ada!"  
  
"Estel! Wake up! You are dreaming!"  
  
"Hush, Estel, I am here," Lord Elrond's calm voice said, and immediately Estel awoke.  
  
"Ada!" he whispered, and then buried his face in his adoptive father's robes, sobbing.  
  
Elrond held his son. "Hush, Estel. It is over, you were only dreaming."  
  
Elladan sent his father a questioning look. His twin Elrohir tapped him on the shoulder, and nodded his head towards a chair. "You look dead on your feet." Elladan sat, and closed his eyes.  
  
Estel sniffled, and looked up at Elrond. "Ada, there was something black, and it was trying to get me. It kept saying Arathorn, and it almost got me tonight."  
  
Elrond stiffened slightly, and Elladan's eyes shot open. "Did you say Arathorn?" Elrond asked, forcing himself to relax, for Estel's sake.  
  
Estel nodded. "I told it I wasn't him, and that I was Estel, but I don't think it believed me."  
  
"What did it look like?" Elrond asked in a soothing tone of voice.  
  
Estel sniffed, and said, "It was big, and black, and it didn't have a face."  
  
Elrohir and Elladan shared a look. They knew what it was.  
  
"It can't get you here, Estel," Elrond assured him. "You are safe."  
  
"Where are Elladan and Elrohir? Are they back? Are they safe too?" Estel asked, almost franticly, he had obviously not seen them.  
  
"We're right here, Estel," Elladan said, standing up. "We made it home without getting hurt."  
  
"Have no fear, Estel," Elrohir said. "We are safe."  
  
"Oh good." Estel yawned, half asleep already. "I was worried... that something had... happened... to you..."  
  
Elladan took Estel from his father, and tucked him into bed.  
  
"Will you stay here?" Estel whispered, opening his eyes to look at them. "Please?"  
  
"Oh course," Elrohir assured him. "One of us will always be here."  
  
"Thank you." Estel closed his eyes, and drifted off into a heavy sleep.  
  
Later, once Elladan and Elrohir had taken a shower, eaten dinner and changed their clothes, they sat in Estel's room as he slept, talking with their father.  
  
"What do you make of Estel's dreams, father?" Elrohir asked.  
  
"I do not know," Elrond replied. "He has had them before. Several times, in fact."  
  
"I know," Elladan said sympathetically. "I have been awoken a couple of times during the night because he is having a bad dream. Most of the time it is Orcs, he says, but sometimes it is something worse." He pounded his hand on the armrest. "If only I had been more careful during that Orc hunt."  
  
"Elladan, it was not your fault-" Elrohir started.  
  
"Elrohir, you know darn well that if I had been more vigilant, Estel would still have a father, and he would be growing up among his own kind," Elladan said. "It is my fault." He stood up, and started pacing.  
  
"Elladan, stop it. You know it is not your fault," Elrohir said sternly.  
  
"Your brother is right," Elrond said to Elladan, speaking for the first time. "It was no one's fault."  
  
Elladan sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I know, I know. I just know that if I had not led us to that place, he would still be alive."  
  
Estel stirred, and whimpered slightly. In a second, Elladan was there, telling him it would be alright. Estel opened his eyes, and looked at Elladan, then sat up and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were dead," he whispered. "You El'dan, and 'Ro and Ada." It was a sign that he was so sorely frightened, that he reverted back to his old names for the twins.  
  
Elladan hugged him back. "Don't worry, we won't ever leave you."  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"Promise," Elrohir said, sitting on the bed next to his twin.  
  
Estel hugged Elrohir too, and then got out of bed to hug Elrond.  
  
Elrond hugged his adoptive son back hard. "You know what I think Elladan needs?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I think he needs another hug."  
  
Estel ran over to Elladan, and squeezed him tightly. "I love you brother El'dan."  
  
Elladan outright grinned, and ruffled Estel's hair. "I love you too, Estel. Now you had better get some sleep."  
  
"Okay!" Estel dove under the covers, and was soon fast asleep.  
  
Later that day, when Elrond was finished with the paper work he had needed to get done, he checked on his sons. He found them all on Estel's bed, still fast asleep. He smiled, and went to lunch, closing the door quietly, so as not to disturb them.  
  
The End  
  
A/N: Sorry about the ending, but I was stuck. And if anyone can tell me how to change the format to html from doc, I would really appreciate it!  
  
Thank you to: HoshikoIzumi, Dragon, Addicted, and Kawaii BlueBear! Your reviews mean a lot to me! 


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